I broke my wrist my second time snowboarding in mid-January. I completely broke my distal radius and my ulnar stylus. Doctors said I was pretty lucky and didn't need surgery, but was pretty close to needing a plate in my arm. I was stuck in a long arm cast for 3 weeks followed by a short cast for 2 weeks. My cast has been off a few weeks now, but I'm still pretty sore.

Either way I went snowboarding again last weekend, but this time with wrist guards and tailbone padding! Lesson to be learned: wear protection!

One of the first things I learned in snowboard school was how to fall correctly. I taught the same lessons to everyone I knew who was just starting. It takes practice and conditioning your brain. Your injury is the most common snowboard injury mainly because it is natural to try to catch yourself. You have to break that habit.

My boy broke his riding park 1/2 way through this season...a real downer. I wore wrist gaurds a lot, older break easier, now we all sport them.
X2 on impact shorts I own 2 different brands and love them.

Biggest no-no in snowboarding.... never throw your hands out upon crashing. I guess the instinct to do it is hard to kill in people, I've been riding mountain bikes and motorcycles for so long, I've learned the "barrel roll" technique and have never had that impulse to break my wrists snowboarding. It's all about taking the impact with your body, and rolling your momentum as far as possible (Don't want an immediate stop, that's when things break.)

Which brands/models? I bought the low-end Pro-tecs and they're pretty much useless. I'm going to buy something else beginning of next season when the stock's in, but I'd like to know what's worth getting.

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-- Rodney Dangerfield.

i've been riding for 7 years and broke my wrist in late january while riding at whistler. distal radius fracture. had the docs in whistler put a cast on it, and then had surgery when i got back home to los angeles, since the bones had begun to shift. got a plate with 8 screws and 12 weeks of physical therapy. totally ruined my season.

i bought my helmet (bern watts) the night before i broke my wrist. i never listen to music when i ride, but i figured since there are headphones in the helmet, so why not give it a shot? i fell and broke my wrist on my first run! caught my front edge, flipped over and smacked my left hand on the ground.

interesting - the docs in whistler said if i'd been wearing a wrist guard, it would have acted like a lever and just transferred the energy further up my forearm, so i would've likely broken my arm instead. since then, i've heard conflicting opinions about this.

I wore wrist guards for years when in the skate park, they are bendy enough that while they may transfer energy away from the impacted area, typically you just feel some pressure at the ends of the guard.

Biggest no-no in snowboarding.... never throw your hands out upon crashing. I guess the instinct to do it is hard to kill in people, I've been riding mountain bikes and motorcycles for so long, I've learned the "barrel roll" technique and have never had that impulse to break my wrists snowboarding. It's all about taking the impact with your body, and rolling your momentum as far as possible (Don't want an immediate stop, that's when things break.)

Also helps to ride in powder

Hmmm, I have heard this, but i've never hurt my wrists snowboarding. Maybe its because my wrists were already fairly strengthened from having stunted and tumbled for years before I started snowboarding?

Hmmm, I have heard this, but i've never hurt my wrists snowboarding. Maybe its because my wrists were already fairly strengthened from having stunted and tumbled for years before I started snowboarding?

It's very likely that you just learned to fall correctly. No amount of strengthening will save your wrists from a nasty fall, and I don't suggest you test it. Think free runners/parkour. They bleed off forces by barrel rolls and other techniques. I used to breakdance, so I understand these techniques and how they can save you from injury.